In Cherryvale today, several trains a day continue
to lumber along the aging rails in the middle of Cherryvale, passing a
restored depot still showing off its brick grandeur. Diesel
locomotives and large grain and cement hoppers - used and reused by several railroad
companies, some even extinct - carry on a legacy that spurred the creation
of Cherryvale 131 years ago.

Leavenworth, Lawrence &
Galveston Railroad 1871-1879

No other single factor was responsible for
Cherryvale's creation and ultimate early-day success than this railroad. It
all began in 1871
when the Lawrence, Leavenworth and
Galveston Railroad(L.L.&G)
platted the city on land owned by a Joseph Wise and built the railroad
through Cherryvale. So powerful was the pull of the railroad in those
early-days that towns literally died overnight if the railroad missed
communities even by one mile. Not so in Cherryvale. The town would only get
bigger as the railroads became more enhanced.

The
Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston Railroad was one of three involved in
the famous race from northern Kansas cities to the Indian Territory border
(later to became Oklahoma) which took place between 1869
and 1871.
The L.L.&G was a distant third in reaching the border at Coffeyville on
July 20,
1871.
Financial woes forced reorganization in 1878 and the company emerged as
the Lawrence and Galveston Railroad. It
was amalgamated with the Kansas City and Santa Fe
(Ottawa to Olathe) and the Southern Kansas Railroad (Cherryvale to
Independence) and became the Kansas City, Lawrence and Southern
Railroad on March 29, 1879.
Construction was pushed from Independence through Winfield and Wellington to
Harper, with a branch to Hunnewell. The line was sold to the rapidly growing
Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe Railway(AT&SF) due to a rate war between the two companies on Dec. 16, 1880.
The name was
changed to the Kansas City, Lawrence and Southern Kansas Railroad.

The Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern Kansas RR,
Ottawa & Burlington RR, and the Kansas City & Olathe railroadcompanies were
consolidated under the name of the Southern Kansas Railway Company and in 1885
"the" was capitalized in the corporate title.
It was known as the Southern Kansas Division or Southern-Kansas
Lines of the AT&SF up to the sale of the remaining
trackage by the Santa Fe to the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL) on
January 1, 1991.

Cherryvale was found to be at the right place
for the St. Louis and San Francisco
Railway, dubbed the "Frisco
Railway", in 1879
when the company built a track from Oswego to Wichita. In 1882,
the Santa Fe and Frisco operated a total of 28
passenger trains with 24
hour service. The two
railroads interchanged about 12,000
cars and exchanged over 600,000
tons of freight a year in Cherryvale. And, the population of that small town grew from 250
to more than 1,000.

The Frisco
would maintain a presence in Cherryvale until November 21, 1980
when the company sold to Burlington NorthernRailroad (BN).
During the 1880s the highest rate of speed allowed for express passenger
trains was 25 to 35 mph. The highest speed allowed for mail and freight
trains was 15 mph.
That trackage, which rests on the original Frisco roadbed, is the only
east-west railroad in southeast Kansas. On
January 1, 1991, the Webb family's Kansas Eastern Railroad (SEK),
a sister company of the SKOL, purchased this trackage. Short-line railroads
like the SEK and the SKOL have salvaged the railroad industry, which
underwent major deregulation in the 1970s and 80s. To cut costs, major
railroad companies were notorious about removing aging depots in various
communities, often without a minute's notice. Few major railroads maintained
their own tracks since railroad investors knew that use of iron rails would
be non-existent in coming years.

Cherryvale St.
Louis and San Francisco
DepotThe Frisco and Santa Fe railways crossed each other
approximately three blocks north of the present Santa Fe depot and just
north across Front Street from the Leatherock Hotel Bed & Breakfast. In1906, the St.
Louis and San Francisco built a two story brick station at this
intersection, considered one of the finest and
best-served depots in southeast Kansas. The structure was one of Frisco's
more unusual designs with its two-winged and octagon-shaped bay tower facing
both tracks topped with a conical
roof, supported by numerous roof brackets.
The Santa Fe jointly used this depot for a brief time until its new depot
was finished in 1910. Just east across the rail crossing from the depot on
the north side of the tracks was a Frisco water tower with two spouts to
serve both the Frisco and Santa Fe steam engines. By the late 1910s,
Cherryvale railroads were the center of commerce and transportation with 36
daily trains. The Frisco closed its station inthe
mid 1970's
and the interchange between the two roads was eliminated. The Frisco depot
was later sold and dismantled
brick by brick in 1983.

When the Santa Fe built its new station, a
three block long brick sidewalk connecting the two depots was built to
facilitate the transfer of passengers, mail and express using baggage carts.
A small one story Railroad Express Agency office building was
constructed fifty feet south of the Frisco depot along the brick platform at
this time. (This structure was directly across from the main entrance to the
Leatherock Hotel Bed & Breakfast on North Depot Street).

Memphis, Kansas and Colorado
1880-1901

The last railroad to enter Cherryvale was the Memphis, Kansas and Colorado narrow
gauge, which was constructed from Parsons in 1880. So, within nine years, Cherryvale would be home to three railroads
with trains coming from six directions. That narrow-gauge railroad quickly found it couldn't compete with
standard-gauge railroads, so the company rebuilt its tracks to standard-gauge
and sold them that same year to the Kansas City,Fort Scott and Gulf, also
called the "Gulf". In 1901,
the Gulf was purchased by the
St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad.
Today, about half-mile north on Carson Street after crossing the old
Frisco tracks, one can spot the old Memphis, Kansas and Colorado Railway
right-of-way. Much of the right-of-way can also easily be spotted through
the northeast rural private farmlands.

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway would
establish its familiar emblem in Cherryvale in the 1880s
when it would take over the often changing Southern Kansas Railway Company.
The company also would build housing for section track maintenance workers, a two-stalled engine roadhouse,
and a pump station with a water tower for fresh water from Lake Tanko
towards the south end of South Depot Street.

By the late 1920s,
there were 14 passenger trains a day on the
Santa Fe stopping in Cherryvale. These had connections at Kansas City, east
to Chicago and west to Los Angeles and San Francisco. They also traveled
south to Coffeyville and Tulsa, with connections to the GulfCoast. A doodlebug (motorcar)
traveled west out of Cherryvale to Independence, then through Moline to a
connection at Winfield to go north to Wichita and Newton, where connections
could be made for Kansas City/Chicago or Los Angeles/San Francisco. At this
time the Santa Fe had one agent, two clerks, and two telegraph operators on
duty at the Cherryvale depot. The depot was open 24
hours a day.

Santa Fe's new streamlined day passenger train,
known as the Tulsan, began operations on Dec. 9,
1939.
This train originated in Kansas City as train #212. When it returned northbound as the Kansas Citian it carried train #211. Another
name train that called on Cherryvale was the night Pullman train called the Oil Flyer. Southbound this
was train #48, northbound it carried #47.

Several daily freight trains
ran through Cherryvale. A Chanute to Tulsa freight train carried numbers 69 and 70. A
Wellington freight train (#83 and 84) also made a daily stop in Cherryvale. This train originated in
Chanute and went to Independence, then west to Longton where it connected
with the Chanute to Winfield line. This line then continued west to Wellington. A
Coffeyville local carried numbers 71 and 72. The Santa Fe would
interchange freight cars daily with the Frisco. Trains
69, 70, 83 and 84 would all leave set-outs on one of the four yard tracks east
of the depot or one of four connection tracks. Cars left by the Frisco would
be placed here as well. The Coffeyville local, which originated there, was
responsible for all switching in Cherryvale. This local would work all
interchange business with the Frisco, and finish any industrial switching
in town before returning to Coffeyville. This local would work all
Coffeyville industries and interchanges before arriving in Cherryvale.

Passenger
service dwindled away due to automobiles, and when the U.S. Postal Service
ceased to use the railroads for shipping mail, the Santa Fe ceased running
its now diesel powered Tulsan on
April 30, 1971. This was the last passenger train to serve the Southeast
Kansas region.

When Elk City reservoir was
built in 1964, the Santa Fe line from Independence to Longton was abandoned.
This eliminated freight trains #83 and #84 passing through Cherryvale. With the closing of the Santa
Fe depot in Coffeyville, the local train was transferred to Chanute, working
south through Cherryvale to Coffeyville and returning on a daily basis. The
frequent steam locomotive whistle would also lose its familiar echoes in the
communities and country side.

In 1989 the Santa Fe received
trackage rights over the Burlington Northern into Tulsa, at this time the
Chanute to Tulsa train was eliminated. The line from Cherryvale to Tulsa
would only be served on an as needed basis by the Santa Fe Railway.

On January 1, 1991, the
remaining Southern Kansas Santa Fe Lines were purchased by the new South
Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL), which has
its headquarters in Pittsburg, Kansas. Cherryvale is considered the hub of
this short-line railroad since all trains in the SKOL system come through
the Cherryvale yard four to five trains a day pulling about 240 total
cars, except weekends. Rail traffic increases during the summer and fall
months when grain elevators ship carloads of freshly harvested grain to
other market destinations. Its the Cherryvale train crews job to take the
inbound trains and rebuild the traffic for the outbound trains. The first train runs from Coffeyville
through Cherryvale, Independence and Caney to Bartlesville, Oklahoma and
return. The second train runs from Coffeyville through Cherryvale to Chanute
and back.

Cherryvale Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Depot
The
Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Depot, located at Third and North Depot Streets, remains as
an icon to the bygone days of railroading, and the memories of steam
locomotives, doodlebugs and long-gone cabooses. Built during 1909-10 at a
cost of $18,000, the standard Santa Fe brick station plan was used as was
the custom during this period for larger sized communities. It is one of
only a few
Santa Fe depots that combine both a covered drive-through entrance portico
and a covered outside waiting platform. It is the only depot of this style
left standing on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's former
Southern Kansas Lines.

The
first sign that the Santa Fe would finally build a new
station to replace their wood depot in use since 1871 further south on Depot
Street
was on May 14, 1909
when an article appeared in the Cherryvale Weekly Republican; "The plans for
Cherryvale's new Santa Fe passenger station have
arrived and they bear evidence of the fact that this city is to be given the
very best depot on the Southern Kansas division, Chanute and Ottawa only
excepted. The new station will be, according to the blue print plans, 48
x 134
feet. The apartments are an outside waiting room, ladies waiting room,
ladies' toilet, gentlemen's toilet, office, gentlemen's waiting room,
baggage room and express room. The building will be
arranged like the Independence station
except that in addition it will have an outside waiting room 30
x 48.
These make the Cherryvale station 25
percent larger than the one at Independence. The outside waiting room is a
new feature, common in the west but almost unknown here. It will be situated
at the north end of the station. The bids for building the new structure will be opened at Topeka May 15
and by the terms of the contract the station must be completed within four
months. This summer will surely see the completion of a magnificent new Santa Fe
station here of which Cherryvale will be proud."

The contract was awarded to O. Swanson and
Sons of Topeka and was to be part of many improvements the railroad was
going to make to its facilities in Cherryvale. When the depot was built the
plan was flopped north and south so the outside waiting room faced Santa Fe
Park and Main Street. Total cost of all these improvements was
$52,000 and included a new roundhouse.

On
May 12, 1910,
this article appeared in the Republican; "Painter
Leaves --- G.W. Banta, who has had charge of painting the new Santa Fe
station here left today for his home in Topeka,
having finished his work. The new station is now ready for the furniture and
then Agent Dodds can move in."

These two
articles from The Republican of June 2,
1910, reflect the first day of business at the new station; From Wednesday's
Daily, "First Ticket --- G.H. Whitman today bought the first ticket sold from
the new depot. The ticket was to Coolidge, Kansas where Mr. and Mrs. Whitman
go to visit relatives for a week. They were accompanied by their son, C.A.
Whitman, who is returning home to that town after a visit with Cherryvale
relatives." "Train Late --- Santa
Fe passenger train No. 202,
due here at 12:20
o'clock was an hour and twenty-five minutes late today. The delay was caused
by a wait at Independence for the delayed passenger train from Tulsa. No. 202
today was the first train into the new station and it established a bad
precedent.".

When the
Santa Fe had no further use of the depot in the 1980s, the historic
structure stood in a disrepair. When the Cherryvale Chamber of Commerce
heard that the Santa Fe had decided to tear down the depot in 1980, they
contacted the railroad to either buy or have the building donated to the
Chamber for use as a headquarters and tourist information center. The Santa
Fe stated that only the south end could be leased for a $1.00 a year to the
Chamber since the north end baggage area was still being used as a workroom
and storage area for the district signal maintenance crew. This arrangement
was inherited by the Dick Webb family, owners of the SKOL Railroad when it
took over the railroad and property in 1991. In May 1991, the Heart of the Heartlands,
a non-profit rail excursion and preservation group, was given permission by the SKOL
to move its headquarters into the depot and the Cherryvale Chamber of
Commerce voluntarily relinquished its lease on the building.

In December of 1988, the
Parsons Model Railroad Engineers in Parsons asked the Chamber if they could
use the public areas in the depot for its train layout. With approval, they moved in, started
construction of a large indoor layout and changed the club name to the
Cherry Valley Model Railroad Club (CVMRC). In 1992, the Webb family, along
with Heart of the Heartlands restored the depot to its original grandeur, keeping every element to
its original status. The SKO soon transferred the signal maintainer to
Chanute and the CVMRC moved into the north baggage section constructing an
elaborate two level layout thus providing space for a Santa Fe museum in the
public areas of the depot. Heartland members then built numerous museum
quality train exhibits and placed many artifacts for display inside the
depot. After spending over $30,000 on building rehabilitation, a
rededication ceremony was held on May 9, 1991. The building now has a secure
future as an asset to the Cherryvale community appearing just like it did
when the first train rolled to the new station in 1910. The Santa Fe Park
south of the facility makes for a nice stop for people when going on brisk
walks up and down Main Street. .

Cherryvale's Station AgentsIn 1952, Walter Ramsden came
to Cherryvale as the new Santa Fe agent. At that time there were two clerks,
a relief clerk, two telegraph operators, and a relief operator on duty at
the depot. A coach ticket to Kansas City cost about $5.00 with a round trip
fare priced at about $8.00. Trains carried 15 to 20 passengers a day from
Cherryvale. By December 1963, the Santa
Fe ran four scheduled passenger trains a day through town. There were five
separate freight accounts, and the depot still remained open 24 hours.

Pat Bell, who came to
Cherryvale in 1940 as a telegraph operator, worked his way up to become the
Santa Fe's last station agent. In October 1979, the Santa Fe received
permission from the Kansas Corporation Commission to close their agency at
Cherryvale. Pat was told that the railroad had enough business for only
about 48 minutes of work a day and that a full time agent was no longer
justified. He was transferred to Coffeyville, where he served a few years as
agent there. Upon his retirement in 1985, Pat had logged a total of 42 years
of service to the Santa Fe. He now resides in Cherryvale.

John Sough operated the first trolley into Cherryvale at 9:30 am Sunday
morning, February 27, 1910. It was an unscheduled test run to check
condition of the tracks without being bothered by a crowd. The news soon
spread through out the area. It was estimated that a crowd of 500 was on
hand to watch the second trolley arrive in Cherryvale.

Historical Points of InterestTour Cherryvale Rail History in Photos,Coming Soon.

1870 Santa Fe Lake Tanko, Roads end at South
Galveston Street.Built to
hold fresh water for
the steam locomotives of the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston Railroad,
Lake Tanko was acquired in 1880 by the Atchison Topeka Santa Fe
Railway. This 45-acre lake
was deeded by the Santa Fe Railway to the city as a New Years gift in
1954. It is now part of Cherryvale's
Recreation Commission with three baseball fields, tennis and basketball
courts, a picnic area, playground, fishing berms, and
sometimes an ideal skating place.

1906 St. Louis & San Francisco
"Frisco" Railway Station,Across Front Street northeast of the Leatherock Hotel
Bed & Breakfast.
The Frisco railroad built a two-story brick station at the the rail
crossing of the Frisco and Santa Fe lines, considered one of the finest
and best-served depots in southeast Kansas. In the mid-1970s, the depot was sold and dismantled in 1983 brick
by brick. Today, only the concrete foundation
and some of the flooring remain as evidences of existence. (See "Frisco
Depot" history at
left).

Post card dated September 10,
1914. Looking southwest from the crossover of the two major railways at
that time.

1910 Atchison Topeka Santa Fe Railway
Depot & Park, 123 North Depot Street.The Santa Fe Depot, built in 1910 in
the heart of downtown Cherryvale, was restored in 1991 after falling into
a sad state of neglect for nearly a decade. The facility's mission-style
architecture with its bricked archway and numerous

Meeting the Santa Fe train at
the depot, summer 1911.

beveled glass windows dates to a
time when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway designed depots with
the southwestern ambiance in order to appeal to the tired Midwesterners,
who yearned for the majestic scenery of the southwestern United States.
The depot has become an icon for the community and a symbol of the glory
day of "the Iron Horse" in southeast Kansas. It is an unforgettable
landmark. Depot Park is located south of the depot parking area and fronts
Main Street. The original park fountain is now a large circular planting
area surrounded with wooden benches.

Today, the depot is
the central office for dispatching and communications for the South Kansas
and Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL), a WATCO
Company headquartered in Pittsburg,
Kansas. (See Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
Railway Depot story at left).

Station or Depot--Technically
"depot" means the building in which railroad business is conducted.
"Station" applies both to the structure and other facilities (water tower,
coal chute, freight platforms, etc) at the site as well. Over the years
the two words have been used interchangeably to refer to the building that
houses railroad services.

1910 Depot Street Brick Railroad Platform,Across Depot Street from the Leatherock Hotel Bed & Breakfast front entrance. When the Santa Fe Depot was constructed, an extensive brick platform or
sidewalk was also laid connecting the Santa Fe depot
to the

Looking north from Main
Street along the 3-block long
brick platform to the Frisco Depot with its conical roof
visible in the far background at right, 1918.

Frisco Depot, located three blocks to the north on Front
and Depot Streets. Passengers and freight carts from both railroads
crossed the brick platform daily along with buggy taxis, hotel greeters,
and sales barkers. Portions of that platform, considered one of the
longest brick platforms in America, are still intact today.

1978 Cherry Valley Model Railroad Club,Historic Santa Fe Depot, 123 North Depot Street. In
November of 1978, the Parsons Model Railroad Engineers Club was formed in
Parsons, southeast Kansas. In 1989, the club relocated and
reconstructed its operating layout in the historic Cherryvale Santa Fe Depot.
When the Heart of the Heartlands Society established a Santa Fe Museum in
the public area of the depot, the CVMR Club relocated its layout to its
present location in the original depot baggage room on the north end of
the mission style depot.

The 26-year old club meets every
Friday night at 7pm. Featuring a large HO model train layout named the
Neosho Valley Lines, this fictitious railroad travels the two-state
miniature countryside between Kansas City through
Cherryvale to Ft. Smith, Arkansas. The N gauge layout is presently being
rebuilt with a double tracked main line. On Friday nights, most club
members become locomotive engineers, switchmen, brakemen, yard operators,
electricians, signal maintenance engineers, and landscapers to enjoy keeping the trains
running and shipping various model railroad cars and cargo to other parts
of the large layout.

The club hosts an Annual Open House in November. They also host annually
railroad shows offering swaps meets, modular railroad layouts and
opportunities for railroad buffs to gather. The N gauge group set-up their
portable modular layouts at the Annual Katy Days Celebrations in Parsons.
The club is open to the public Friday evenings as well as during most city
events and fairs. Memberships are presently available. For club
information, visit www.cvmrc.com or
email
CVMRclub@aol.com.

1996-2002 Santa Claus Train,Local southeast Kansas cities.
Santa Claus doesn't always ride in his sleigh. Southeast Kansas children
know that a brightly multi-colored lighted caboose preceded by lively
Christmas music sometimes brings him down the tracks to their cities.
While the friendly elves pass

Santa Claus Train December 2003

out candy to the milling crowds,
small children approach eagerly, reaching to touch or climb into Santa's
lap. Some 18volunteers from the
Heart of the
Heartlands Society, working in cooperation with the
South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad,
spend three days each year whistle stopping along the SKOL rail system to
bring a memorable visit from Santa Claus to children along these rail
lines. Scheduling for this annual event can not be planned too far in
advance of the holidays due to SKOL's rail traffic demands. Details can be
obtained by visiting their web site or from Larry and Kathy Spahn, 620 396-8594.

The above
information is part of the heritage of Cherryvale, Kansas and the legacy of the
historicLeatherock Hotel Bed
& Breakfast and
Museum420 North Depot Street
Cherryvale, KS 67335Information and
Reservations 620 336-3350leatherockasuite4u@gmail.com